Small firms urged to hire Koreans over foreigners

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Sunday that it will encourage small- and medium-sized firms to hire Koreans rather than foreigners in order to provide more jobs for local jobseekers.

A ministry official said that firms with a staff of 50 to 300 will not be allowed to recruit low-skilled migrant works with an E-9 visa beginning next month if they have refused to renew employment for Koreans.

The move comes with the unemployed criticizing migrant workers as taking their jobs.

The number of Koreans who are either jobless or working part-time or less than 36 hours per week was 1.68 million as of May. On the other hand, the low-skilled foreign workforce increased from 52,000 in 2005 to 194,000 in 2011.

The labor law requires small- and medium-siezed companies with less than 300 workers to hire immigrants only when they fail to find Koreans suitable for low-skilled jobs despite a 14-day recruitment notice.

Those firms, however, have not been cooperative and favor the cheaper foreign labor, according to the ministry

“We understand that the small- and mid-sized companies have financial difficulties and are trying to cut labor costs,” said Jang Hyun-suk, a senior deputy director of the foreign workforce policy division under the ministry.

“But employers should not forget that the government introduced the employment program to allow migrant workers because the firms had difficulty finding local job applicants. And now it’s time to force those employers to obey the law,” he said.

The ministry said 4,700 small- and medium-sized enterprises currently hire a total of 46,000 migrant employees. “We specifically target these firms, as they’re in a better financial condition compared with much smaller companies with fewer employees,” Jang said.

Employers violating the law twice or more will be prohibited from hiring E-9 visa holders.

The ministry will also urge firms with between 30 and 49 workers to put a priority on hiring locals over foreigners.

“We have not come up with a specific plan yet but those companies will include those paying higher wages or located in bigger cities,” Jang said. <The Korea Times/Yi Whan-woo>

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